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ASHBURN, Va. (CBSDC) — The long road back from injury can make for some interesting stories, especially for NFL players recovering from surgery.

Washington Redskins defensive end Adam Carriker had surgery to repair a torn quadriceps tendon and muscle less than two weeks ago. On Monday, he was back working out at Redskins Park.

Perhaps it was the lingering effects of the post-procedure medication or that he’s been largely dormant since he suffered the injury in St. Louis, but Carriker nearly passed out twice during what would normally have been an easy lifting session.

He was just planning on doing a routine that would last 30 minutes under normal circumstances.
But on this day, Carriker would barely get through the bench and pull-ups without becoming seriously dizzy.

Carriker then told his strength coach he needed to use the restroom and proceeded to exit the weight room. The toilet was the last thing on his mind, however.

“I grabbed my crutches, and I crutched myself back to the locker room, get in front of my locker and I just laid down,” he said. “Guys are coming and going. One guy goes, ‘Are you alright?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah. I might not be in the best shape right now.’ ”

Carriker, a more than 300-pound defensive end, compared the experience to his freshman year at Nebraska when he mistakenly thought he needed to complete his conditioning test in the same time as a defensive back. In reality, he had about 20 extra seconds to finish the 300-yard shuttle.

After accomplishing the feat once, he threw up, passed out and left a huge dent in a trash can from his fall.

He hadn’t experienced anything similar until he returned to weight room in Ashburn.

Eventually, Carriker did return from ‘restroom’ to attempt to complete his lifts on Monday. It was long before the same symptoms would return.

He then confessed he wasn’t feeling very well and was told he should just go home. It was a difficult pill for the self-proclaimed meathead to swallow, but he did not want to pass out at the Redskins’ facility.

Again he headed to the locker room to lay down. However, the media were mingling about the second time.

On any other day this would have posed a problem, but Carriker’s nausea and faintness made their presence irrelevant.

Exhausted, he again plopped down on the floor. He would put on a front and joke with reporters as the inquired about his well-being, but would immediately drop the facade after they moved on.

The symptoms should greatly diminish the further removed Carriker gets from surgery.

As for the Nebraska gaffe, Carriker says he still gets grief for it to this day.

4th & Pain with Adam Carriker and Chuck Carroll airs daily at noon on 4thAndPain.com and Sunday mornings at 8 on 106.7 The Fan.